Tim McGee Sees it Through
by meegeesgeek
Summary: Written for 2010 SeSa.  Tim gets caught in a tough situation, and must make a choice to keep a co worker out of harm's way.
1. The Hospital

Tim McGee Sees it through

Characters: Mostly Tim but the others are there as well

Written for Laikyn-Hope you like it…Mwah

Word Count: 6,906!

Set during either the current season or season 7.

Author warnings: Contains references to sexual assault and adult themes!

"_Won't you stand up, stand up, stand up_

_Won't you stand up you girls and boys_

_Won't you stand up, stand up, stand up_

_Won't you stand up and us your voice"_

_ From Stand up by Sugarland_

**Chapter 1**

_December 20__th_

Beep

Beep

Click

Whrr! 

Those ominous yet normal sounds of the hospital were the only outward manifestations that Timothy McGee was alive. Team Gibbs were all hunkered down in the plain hospital room at Bethesda Naval Hospital, and to passerby's they could tell by the look on their downtrodden faces just how long that they had been there.

The group had been there long enough to realize that nurse Maria only worked the night shift, hated cats, and was allergic to just about every kind of seafood. Tony soon realized that the woman had a husband and that was why she was unflappable to the great DiNozzo charm game. They also realized how seriously she took her job, and while she hated the fact that people got hurt by the vicious world, she also understood that God ingrained in her the ability to make people better, and that she had the power to comfort the grieving and hurting. It was her desire to help people that made her want to be a nurse, however she wanted to work at this particular hospital because when her brother died oversees serving in the Navy, she knew that he had to honor her fallen brother by nursing back to health those that worked and kept those in that branch of service safe.

Maria thought that she had seen it all. She had seen commandeers bloodied and beaten because that was the price of serving one's country. She had seen petty officers lives ruined before they even truly started because of infield accidents. However none of those incidents prepared her for what she saw on that fateful December night. What she saw that night chilled her to the bone, and had been the topic of many a night of nightmares-not that she would ever admit that.

One quiet December night saw Bethesda Naval Hospital being turned upside down. Cathy, the night manager, a round and pudgy woman whom never waved her authority over anyone, got the call.

…

_Dispatcher: Hello, hello?_

_Cathy: Hi this is Cathy from Bethesda what is your emergency?_

_Dispatcher: This is Ron we have a patient being airlifted to the hospital our E.T.A. is about 10 minutes._

_Cathy: How many victims?_

_Dispatcher: One…..but he'll keep ya occupied for awhile._

_Cathy: Injuries?_

_Dispatcher: Three shots to the chest, multiple stab wounds, bruising to the torso, arms, legs. Possible internal organ damage as a result of the gunshots and bruising….and p possible sexual assault._

_Cathy: Okay you get him here in one piece we'll make sure he stays that way" Cathy responded cheerfully._

…_._

Despite the cheerfulness of the tone she gave off Cathy was distressed. Whoever this was, was coming to their hospital most definitely not in one piece. However hopefully as a result of their methodical surgeons and nurses, and god she hoped that he had friends, maybe this man would be able to reach through to the other side.

It was with that determination that Cathy gathered up a group of nurses and a team of doctors to be ready for the arrival of their newest charge. There was a lot that had to be done before that helicopter landed on their roof—they needed to have surgery rooms prepped, x ray machines tested for use, and blood and other medical supplies needed to be gathered


	2. Team Reaction

Beep

Beep

Click

Whrr! 

Abby sat in the rock hard chair by Tim's bed, and she held his hand while muttering to herself and maybe even Tim.

The over exuberant lab rat would forever remember the time and place that she heard that HER Timmy was hurt. She was sitting in her lab awaiting the dings or pops of her various scientific machines because that would bring her possible leads in the MCRT's latest case. The latest case was brutal in that it involved the death of a Naval Officer's wife and daughter, but what was even more disheartening was the signs of sexual penetration of the little girl….sometimes these cases and bad guys could be even more repulsive than the last!

"You need to get better Timmy of I won't give you your Christmas present!" Abby choked out.

….

_December 12__th_

_Team Gibbs got a call out to the home of a Naval Officer. According to Tim what they saw when the got there even put Tony's "stomach to shame." However like good little agents the team managed to keep their bodily fluids in them while they worked._

_Gibbs really wants to catch the S.O.B. that did this especially because of the fact that the case involved a child. Everyone by unspoken agreement knew that these cases hit on the "papa bear" nerve within him, and everyone also over the years had come to realize that these sorts of cases reminded him of all that he had lost._

_It was for that reason that Gibbs was on edge even more than usual and working the team until they were dirt specs on the ground. _

_Their only lead was Petty Officer James Buchanan. Apparently the man was upset at his C.O. because he had reamed him a new one when the man was late to live training exercises, and he had reamed him out in front of everyone. According to the other members there performing exercises James was seething at the public humiliation and talked about revenge. _

_But no one could have expected him the way that he did. Instead of going after C.O. Wilkerson he went after his family. The team thought that Buchanan was the despicable human being responsible for raping and murdering Wilkerson's family. _

_Tim found evidence of a recently purchased gun that matched the striations of the bullets used to kill the innocent family, and he also found web diaries where the man spouted off about the honor killing that he had preformed._

_So while Gibbs and company had their man in their sights they had no idea where Buchanan may have been hiding. Bo one in his squadron had seen him since the public reaming that he had taken, and he was too much of a loner to ask any of them for help._

_So that was why when Tim finally found a bead on his location Gibbs was happy. Apparently the man was hanging out in one of the old abandoned warehouses that had yet to be torn down in the warehouse district._

_Team Gibbs pounced at the chance of bringing the man down, and so they left headquarters wanting blood. _

_However as I would learn much later James Buchanan didn't plan on going to jail, and he wasn't afraid to use force._


	3. Shedding Some Light

December 20th

Beep

Beep

Click

Whrr!

Nurse Maria came to check on her latest charge during her regular rounds. Truth be told she really liked this man. From what she had heard from the mutterings of her coworkers and family this man, a Timothy McGee, was a hero. Apparently he saved one of his coworkers and in the process had been hurt.

It always hurt Maria to see patients in comas especially since this one had lasted about 6 days already. Normally people would be out of comas by now, and she knew that the longer he remained in such a coma the less likely it would be for him to wake up.

All Maria could do was sigh because it seemed as though the bad guys always came through fights even stronger, however the good guys always got knocked down for the count. Oh well she thought, and with one last check of his vitals, and stopping to smooth out the man's blankets Maria was gone.

Beep

Beep

Click

Whrr!

….

Tony who sat in the other chair by Tim's bed had stirred slightly when Maria had come into the room. He watched as the woman checked his Probie's vitals and then how she smoothed out the wrinkles in the bed. Everyone always wanted to mother McGee because he just looked so darn innocent and young. However Tony had never seen him look as young as he did right now. The parts of Probie that he could see which was not much considering that he looked like a mummy swathed in white bandages, and the ventilator obscured his view as well, however the parts that Tony could see looked pale and translucent.

It looked as though Tim had lost almost 10 pounds since he entered the hospital, and that was on top of the weight loss that he had achieved over the past fee months. Tony was proud of his Probie. In the back of the senior agent's mind he always wondered whether or not Tim could handle himself in tough situations. Sure he had grown up a lot over the course of his tenure at NCIS but he always wondered if he was quick enough, and maybe even strong enough.

However this case had truly shown Tony that there was no reason to worry about Tim-he could definitely hold his own.

….

_December 12__th_

_Tony and Gibbs were taking the front entrance of the moldy warehouse, while Ziva and Tim were going to take the back. They had hoped that the element of surprise would give them the advantage, and that when this Buchanan guy saw that he was surrounded by four trained to kill agents that he would surrender._

_Cleearly that was wishful thinking in their part. While Buchanan was surprised he was even angrier. Apparently he had set up shop in the back of the warehouse and even Ziva was unprepared for the amount of ammunition that the man had. The crash towards the back of the room alerted us to where Buchanan was, however as we inched closer we were educated on the fallacy of such movement._

_Bang!_

_Bang!_

_Bang!_

_The three shots fired off in succession left me and Gibbs struggling to look for cover. Then we heard Buchanan start talking._

"_I won't go to jail! You hear me!" Buchanan shouted_

_You need to come with us James and we talk about what will happen" Gibbs reasoned with the man._

"_No I am done talking you two need to leave but the Israeli and nerd stay with me" the petty officer replied._

"_We can't let you do this…." Gibbs said._

_The rest of the silver haired mans speech was cut short as James inched his way toward where we were, and he was using Ziva as a back cover, and Tim was his shield in the front. There was no way that we could get a clear shot off without risking hurting one of our teammates. So we agreed to leave._

_I'll never forget the look on Probie's face as we inched our way closer to the door. He looked scared yet defiant at the same time._

…_.._

**December 20****th**

So we left our teammates behind to face whatever hell Buchanan would inflict upon them. Gibbs called Vance and we had a hostage negotiator on scene in rapid time, something about owing Gibbs a favor, and we set up shop to listen to what move James would make next. We waited nearly a while day before we heard cries of pain and pleasure.

Gosh it took everything I had to not get off of my ass and storm that building. But Vance said that we needed to wait until we got layouts and blueprints, and more teams.

Beep

Beep

Click

Whrr!

Gosh Probie I am so sorry…you need to wake up buddy because I don't want to break in a new agent man. With that thought and so many more Tony finally succumbed to the sleep that would hopefully heal him in a way.


	4. Little Help From Friends

**Flashback—Tim remembers the past, kinda like Gibbs in Hiatus**

_I can hear "probie's and Timmy's" surrounding me but it is like I am stuck in a fog that is impenetrable. All I do know is that I want to forget what the James Buchanan did to me, I can still feel the husk of his breath on the nape of his neck, and he can feel those slimy calloused hands all over him._

_He didn't know what hit him at first. All he remembered was going around back with Ziva to potentially catch the suspect. He remembered that he counted down from three and that then Ziva kicked in the door. Beyond that so much was a blur until James used him and Ziva as human shields to get Tony and Gibbs to leave. I remember pleading to them with my eyes to stay, but I knew that they wouldn't or couldn't to be more precise. There was no way that they could risk a shot with the two of us barricading James in. _

_After the other more experienced team members left me and Ziva, James took us up to the abandoned loft in the building. _

_In the loft there were more guns and amunitation sitting in the corner of the room. In the corner laid a old moldy looking mattress that was covered in tattered remains of a blanket. James pushed Ziva onto the mattress and started muttering how he was "going to make her his" or some other mumbo jumbo. I knew that I couldn't let anything happen to Ziva, so with all might I levered off of the ground and pushed into James._

"_Stay away from her!" I bellowed._

"_Oh why should I listen to a computer nerd like you" James retorted._

"_Because this nerd was the one that put all the pieces together and figured out that you were the murderer" Tim tersely replied._

_James looked dumbfounded at the fact that it was me who led to his demise, and then after a few minutes of awe, anger seeped into his piercing blue, cold eyes. That was when James pushed Ziva off of the bed, and handcuffed her to the radiator, and then in one motion swiftly pushed me down onto the bed. _

_James began hitting me and telling me how worthless I was, and that once he was done with me that no one would ever want me again. I couldn't fathom why he would say that…that was until he started to undo my pants, and then I felt him touching me everywhere. All I could think of while he kept this up was the thank God it wasn't Ziva, and I also hoped and prayed that Tony and Gibbs would find a way to save us before it was too late._

_After James became tired of using me as his toy, he began to pace back and forth. He was muttering off about how he planned on getting away, and how he wasn't going to go to jail. So all in all he was saying what almost all other suspects would. Well at least that much stayed the same!_

_After about an hour or two James retreated downstairs to do god only knows what. That left me and Ziva alone to talk._

"_Tim are you okay" Ziva said and her voice conspicuously breaking._

"_Y-Y-Yeeahh" I broke out. But truth be told I was rather cold since James kept my shirt, and the heater in the building probably didn't work._

"_Good" replied Ziva. "Well what should we do when James comes back?"_

"_Umm why are you asking me Ziva you are the ninja Mossad operative…I am just the geek remember" I laughed out._

"_McGee you are so much more than that and don't forget I am the one chained to the wall here" Ziva replied._

"_Oh right sorry..umm maybe we could ask him nicely to let us go" I shrugged_

_Whatever Ziva might have said was cut off with the return of James. James then made the mistake of un cuffing Ziva. While Ziva didn't make a move quite yet I trusted her to get us out of the situation._

_After awhile James came over to the bed where I was laying in my side. He turned me over on my back and I just prayed that he wasn't going to touch me anymore. And on that count I was correct, except he started hitting me all over, and when that didn't give him pleasure anymore he began making slash marks all across my chest._

_I remember the first time the blade hit my skin I let of a quick scream, but as the slashes multiplied and became quicker my high pitched scream turned into low guttural groans. _

"_See you ain't no special agent, you ain't tough enough" James replied all the while manically laughing._

_After awhile I passed out from the pain and blood loss, and for the remainder of our two day stay at the warehouse is all a haze for me. _

_All I remember is the pain, and the sound of agents bursting through the door, and when I finally saw Gibbs I felt the piercing blow of two bullets ripping through my chest….._

_That is all I remember until now. Now I am sitting on a bench wondering where I am, and if I'll ever be able to hug Jethro again, or razz my sister about my rather good abilities at making "pretty little pie charts"? _

_Then all of a sudden someone is with me. Kate. Kate is with me; gosh she hasn't aged a bit I thought._

"_Hey Tim" the fallen agent said._

"_Hey Kate" I replied_

"_So where am I" Tim asked_

"_The in between, where you get to make a choice…do you stay here and come with me to the afterlife. Or do you fight to hold onto your life?" Kate replied rather matter of factly._

"_I…I get to choose"_

"_Yep Tim you do, you have the choice that I never had"_

"_Kate what do I do?"_

"_I cannot answer that, only provide you with details. If you go back it may be a long and hard recovery, and you may never be the same again."_

"_Ohhhhhh ummmm." Was all Tim could stammer out._

"_But if you stay with me you'll never know how things may have turned out"_

_After a long silence of me contemplating all that was before me, and like Tony thought I am sure that I analyzed all the variables rather accurately I made a decision. I decided…_

"_I'm going to go back Kate. I miss my family and someone needs to be Tony's outlet" I replied_

"_Good choice Tim" was all Kate said before she vanished into the air. But I knew that she wasn't gone really, I knew that she would be looking down on me during my recovery, and that she would always be in my dreams._

_And with that I prepared to re enter the world of the living!_


	5. Gibbs Ire

**A/N Thank you to all those that have reviewed and Read this **

December 20th

As Gibbs sat there and looked at his youngest agent he was saddened. He was saddened that his youngest agent had to have been hurt at all, and he was sad that it took so long for him and Tony to be able to storm the building and reclaim their own. He remembered operating on autopilot ever since him and Tony had been forced from the building, and he remembered the coldness he felt upon seeing his surrogate son lying on that bed.

_Flashback _

"_Dammit Leon we need to get in there!" Gibbs bit out over the phone._

"_We cannot and will not go in there until we see the blueprints of the building. For all we know James could have ammunition that we are unaware of, and going in blindsided will do nothing to help your agents in there." Leon spoke back to the man_

"_Well fine then you can explain to his parents why their son may come home in a body bag Leon!" Gibbs vehemently declared. After biting out that response he slammed his phone down in disgust effectively ending the call._

_It took another day for the blueprints of the building to come into the hands of NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and when they were finally there him, Tony, and two other teams sped out into the D.C. night towards their captive agents._

_Upon arrival the teams split up with half of the group taking up the rear while the rest went in through the kicked in front entrance. Each person and teams cleared each room on the downstairs level before stealthily moving up to the loft._

_Gibbs and Tony were the ones that stumbled upon the room that held their captive team members. James Buchanan hated surprise and let out a series of successive shots to combat how cornered he felt. Tony nicked the Petty Officer in the knee taking him down for the count but not before the man shot Tim in the chest twice._

_Gibbs was right there lowering Tim to the ground as the shots were being fired. He murmured things like "fight son" and "you don't have my permission to die" but Tim was already down for the count. By the time the paramedics got there his agent's breathing had become shallow and the slight rise and fall of his chest were the only outward signs that Tim was indeed still fighting. _

_Gibbs sent Ziva in the ambulance to the hospital with Tim, even though she protested that she was okay, the Israeli still needed to be checked out. After the paramedics strapped Tim onto a gurney and attached a ventilator to his agent, Tony and Gibbs were left to take James Buchanan back to headquarters._

_For once Gibbs didn't want in on the interrogation so he passed those honors onto Hank Balboa whom he trusted to be as harsh as he would be. No Gibbs needed to be there at the hospital for Tim and the others; he NEEDED to know that he wasn't going to lose another team member. Truth be told he was unsure if he could take another teammates death. For each loss represents a little loss of the man's heart, and the man's heart ceased being whole many years ago, but losing Tim could send the man over the edge._

_With those thoughts he gathered Abby, Jimmy, and Tony and they all embarked on their journey to the hospital._

_That is what brought team Gibbs to the hospital 6 days ago. They came here because Tim McGee, the glue that holds the team together at times, was hurt, and they needed to be there for him._

_When the rest of team Gibbs arrived at the hospital they immediately hunkered down in the waiting room. Gibbs lasted five minutes tops before he muttered about going for a coffee run, and while he was up he also looked for Ducky. He found Ducky in the waiting room when he got back._

"_Ahh Jethro you have returned" the amiable medical examiner exclaimed._

"_Yea Duck I am here is there any news on McGee?" the leader asked_

"_Yes there is indeed news"_

"_Jethro this is Dr. Benz and she was responsible for operating on Tim"_

"_Hello Mr. Gibbs" replied the doctor._

_Gibbs harrumphed in reply._

"_Well I worked on Timothy, and during surgery we and a team of doctors repaired the damage that the bullets inflicted on your agent's liver, heart, and other internal organs. We were lucky that the bullets did not hit the heart directly because otherwise there would have been nothing that we could have done. Tim sustained a substantial blood loss as a result and because of that he is breathing along with the assistance of a ventilator. However we are hopeful that as the heart becomes stronger, and the wounds begin to heal that Tim will come out of the coma he has slipped into" Dr. Benz explained._

_All through this Gibbs remained stoic and stone faced for the sake of his team. However as he was about to ask if they could see their fallen teammate Dr. Benz resumed her talking._

"_Timothy did sustain other injuries. He has a lacerated liver as a result of the bullet damage, and he has three cracked ribs from repeated trauma to the torso area. What may be the most psychologically damaging aspect of his injuries is the signs of penetration that we found during the initial exam, and the theory of assault was confirmed by and Agent David. On top of the sexual assault there are multiple bruises and superficial stab wounds littering the Tim's arms, legs, torso, and thighs. " Dr. Benz finished_

_At some point during the Doctor's spiel Abby had broken down crying and she was now huddled into Tony's arms trying to seek refuge from the horrible reality that had just hit these friends square in the face. Jimmy had also collapsed into the nearest chair and was now cleaning his glasses for like the third time in as many minutes. _

_Gibbs however was silently seething after hearing about what had happened to his youngest boy. He never in a million years would have guessed that Buchanan would have inflicted this much damage on Tim, and it was a good thing for James that he was in fact not conducting the interrogation otherwise he wouldn't be held responsible for his actions._

_End of Flashback_

…_.._

So that was what had brought team Gibbs to Bethesda Naval Hospital. Tim had been brought here over 6 days ago and he remained in his coma still. The doctors were dumbfounded as to why he was still in this sleepy sate because his heart rate and injuries were in fact healing.

However they were still in the beginning stages of studying comas and all their effects and stages. The doctors remained hopeful. It was that hope that kept team Gibbs visiting every day.

Sarah hadn't left the hospital since the day her brother was admitted, and the girl's parents who flew in from Alameda four days ago only left in the evenings to stay at Ducky's. Everyone was gathered at the hospital today on December 20th sitting around the man's hospital bed. Abby and Sarah occupied the two chairs on the left side of the bed, while Tony and Gibbs stood at the front of the bed, and Ziva and Tim's parents took up residency on the other side of the bed.

Everyone was nodding off, and getting ready to leave for the night when a sudden tightening of Tim's hand caught the attention of Abby. When Abby looked up she squealed in delight, and that alerted the other members to a breakthrough. Everyone turned their attention to the bed's occupant in time to see Tim open up his glassy green eyes for the first time in six days!


	6. He's Alive!

**Chapter 6:**

Timothy's dad, Robert, a former Navy Seal pushed down on the call button in the room to alert the nurses of his son's awakening. Robert was a stout man who loved his son more than anything, and upon hearing the news of what happened to him and gotten on the first plane to the D.C. area. When Tim had grown up he was a frequent subject of local bullies, and while it tore at his heart to see his son come home every day with bruises he knew that he couldn't fight his son's battles. He also grew to be proud of his son because he never fought back against the bullies, except when others were hurt. If another student was getting harassed then Tim would step in and take the heat off of the other individual. It was that silent strength that told him that his son would be okay, and that he would grow up to be strong. No not physically strong like him, but emotional, and psychologically strong which may be even more important.

"Hey Tim, it's okay we are all here" Robert soothingly said to his son as he began to fight the ventilator.

Tim just stayed looking into the steely gaze of his father, and he drank up the strength in those eyes like they were daily vitamins.

Then the Dr. Benz came in.

"Well hello there Timothy, nice of you to rejoin the land of the living" the doctor said jovially. I am just going to ask you a few questions okay, blink once for yes, and then twice for no okay"

Tim nodded.

"Do you know where you are?"

Upon looking around and seeing the machines Tim blinked once.

"Do you know who these people are around you?"

Again Tim surveyed the room and he stared intently at all the people there, his parents and family, and then his second family being Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, and Abby…he definitely knew them, so again he blinked once.

"That's real good Tim" the doctor replied. We are going to keep the ventilator in for a fee more hours to make sure that your lungs will be able to handle breathing on their own again.

Tim shook his head in understanding. Truth be told he had been hit with an onslaught of pain s he had reentered the land of the living, and a teeny bit of him was missing the medically induced fog that he had previously inhabitated.

The rest of team Gibbs was ecstatic at the sight of their youngest agent alive and well, and in a few hours he would be able to breathe and talk on his own. Things were definitely looking up from the bleak image that had once inhabitated their minds. Tim McGee was on the mend!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

McGee was taken off of the artificial means of breathing about three hours after he had woken up from his coma slumber. The team and his family could not be more ecstatic.

"Hey Timmy" Abby softly squealed out after the ventilator was removed.

"Hey Abbs" McGee hoarsely said.

"I am so glad that you are up Timmy, and I cannot wait until you are all better so I can give you my usual Abby style hugs" the Goth said.

"Hey you can give me a gentle preview if you would like" Tim laughingly said. And the Goth did just that. After Abby talked with Tim it was Palmer's turn to cheer up the patient.

"it's uhhh..good to have you back McGee. But you know that there are still ways in which your wounds could get infected and that could lead to nasty necrosis and that is..." Jimmy said before Tim interrupted him.

"Um thanks Jimmy, I think. Boy do you know how to make a man feel welcome" Tim said.

"Uhh sorry, um right I think Ziva is next" Jimmy said as he shuffled towards the door.

And with the autopsy gremlin was gone, and in came Ziva.

Tim noticed how guarded the woman seemed, and she looked very un herself. She was a shadow of herself truth be told.

"Well hello there McGee" Ziva said.

"Hey there" McGee replied.

"Look McGee I just wanted to say thank you for saving me from James, the moments reminded me eerily of the situation I faced in Somalia, and I believe as you American say I freezed out"

"Um that is froze up, and Ziva really it is nothing.." As Tim was about to say more Ziva made to jump in but Tim wouldn't let her. "Really Zee it is fine, we as team have one another"

"Yes very well, however I still feel terribly that you were violated in that manner" The Israeli said.

At the mention of the rape Tim seemed to clam up, but quickly covered that up with a shaky smile, and a few mumbled incoherent words.

After David had her time with the wounded agent it was Tony's turn to work his magic on the Probie Wan.

"Hey McComa" Tony mockingly said, however the underlying humor seemed to be absent.

"Oh real original there Tony, I gave you sox days and that was all that you could come up with" Tim laughed.

"Yea well you see I was a bit busy here making sure that your pretty little sister didn't fall apart, and I had to make sure that Gibbs didn't drink himself into a stupor each night. So I was a wee bit busy here without my junior agent here to do all the grunt work" The Italian replied.

"Yea sorry about that I was a bit busy fighting for my life" Tim grunted.

"Yea well all id forgiven as long as you don't go making this a habit because I am supposed to me the one that gets hurt and then fawned all over by the pretty little nurses" Tony said.

"Well I cannot promise anything but I think this is all the pain I want to experience in this lifetime" Tim said in reply.

Okay good to hear McGee, and with a clap on the shoulder the Italian was gone. In came Gibbs next. Boy did he look tired.

"McGee" came the grunted reply of the ex Marine.

"Boss" came the timid reply.

"You did good out there Tim"

"Really it was nothing Boss, just doing what you taught us. Even though if I was a bit quicker than we wouldn't have been blindsided at all" came the self recriminatory reply.

THWACK

"Don't you say that McGee, even Ziva was a bit surprised at how prepared Buchanan was, and we shoulda waited for backup. I let the fact that I wanted him so badly get in the way of your safety and for that I am sorry" Gibbs muttered.

THWACK

Guess these painkillers are making me a bit brave Boss, but anyways saying your sorry is a sign of weakness remember.

"Not in this case, never among friends" Gibbs replied.

"Umm boss can I ask you something"

"Sure McGee" Gibbs replied.

"Umm did the doctor tell everyone about the assault?"

"No Abby doesn't know because I think she was lost after the doctor told us about tyeh coma" came Gibbs' reply

"Oh okay...ummm do you think any less of me?" came the dejected tone

"Of course not McGee rape in never the fault of the victim. That and Ziva told us about how you saved her from being assaulted. That takes courage McGee" Gibbs replied in his usual monotone voice.

"Wanna know why I did it?" McGee asked

"Sure" Gibbs replied.

I did it because when I was younger I was always picked on. Everyone overlooked me because I was smaller, and then everyone hated me because I was smart. So I never really fit in anywhere. Everyone always picked on me and shoved me into lockers because they could. And I always took kit because I figured that if I fought back that they would just beat on me ten times worse. Then one day I was listening to the radio and a song said _"_Won't you stand up, stand up, stand up / Won't you stand up you boys and girls / Won't you stand up, stand up, stand up / Won't you stand up and use your voice" and I thought that the song made a lot of sense.

I mean no one ever stood up to the bullies for me, but I thought that I might have been strong enough to at least stand up for others. So anyways there was this girl and she had this syndrome that made her slow developmentally and I helped her a lot with her schoolwork because a lot of the teachers just didn't have the patience, so anyways I was walking her home one day when these three jocks jumped her. I thought about calling the police or yelling for help, but somewhere deep inside me I remembered those lyrics. I remembered the feelings of being picked on for being different, and I remembered how I hated that no one would ever stand up for me, so I just jumped into action.

I got beat up pretty badly and needed a few stitches and things, but at least Ryan, that was her name, came away relatively unscathed, and the bullies started to leave her alone. I liked that feeling of being able to help take the pressure off of someone, and I think that was when my dad told me I should go into law enforcement. He thought that I could really help people because as he saw it I was unflappable when it came to defending those that I love, or those that I feel are in danger.

Gibbs just stood there in awe of his junior agent. He always knew that this man had the "heart of a lion" like Tony said, but he never imagined that he went through all that in his childhood. I mean most people are just worrying about passing school, and where the latest fling will lead them, but Tim worried about others and their safety. It was his ability to empathize and connect to everyone in some way that allowed the man to become such a valuable asset, and despite how long he had worked in law enforcement he still retained a bit of childlike innocence, which is a rarity.

"So Boss did I stand up…did what I do matter?" McGee asked a few minutes later.

"Yea Tim it did…you did good son, you showed them" Gibbs choked out.

While Gibbs would have loved to stay and chat a bit longer those hopes were dashed with the arrival of his family. He couldn't really blame them with wanting to be close by Tim after what happened because every time Kelly got hurt Gibbs wanted to be near to kiss and make it better.

On the way out Gibbs shared a look with Robert McGee and he hoped that the look conveyed his thanks for raising a good man, and that he was dammed lucky to have him for a son. He thinks that the look did just that because Robert's face softened almost in understanding.

Gibbs left the hospital that night with a happy heart knowing that his team member was on the mend! Maybe he'd finally be able to get some good boat work done because god knows he hasn't been able to since the whole melee started.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

December 25th

The team once again came to visit Tim in the hospital as they had done every day since the ordeal started. Someone was always there when he relived painful nightmares about what happened as a result of James Buchanan's vicious plot. Someone was always there to put a steadying and on him during the shaky moments when he first got out of bed after being out of commission and someone was always there after he talked to the hospital psychologist. Someone was there every step of the way, whether it be someone from Tim's defacto NCIS family, or whether it be his real family. He was never alone for a minute.

Everyone came around late on Christmas because Abby corralled them all into going and keeping Timmy company on the festive holiday. Tiny supplied endless wisecracks about how he was missing some poker tournament, or talking about all the Christmas movie classics. Abby put up green and red skeleton masks and ornaments around his room, and she practically hung into him the whole night. While Ducky corralled everyone with stories of Christmas' past, and Jimmy would pipe in with laughter at all the wrong places like only he could. Gibbs, well he was Gibbs, just ebbed and flowed really.

Tim's family had come by earlier in the day and the agent finally convinced his parents to return to California so they could get back to enjoying their retirements. Gibbs knew that it was hard for Robert to let go and leave Tim, because it is always hard to see your kids leave their nests and fly without your parental wings. However the ex Naval man and him had talked and he assured the man that he would call if Tim hit any roadblocks.

Tomorrow Tim will be going home, a mere 2 weeks after he entered the hospital. Sure he may be going home but Gibbs is confident that Tony will find time to stop by and check up on Tim, and bring plenty of movies to keep the younger man's dark thoughts away. Ziva will take care of all the practical things that Tim needs such as the cooking and cleaning. All the while Abby will be there to cheer him up by getting him out of the house and doing fun Goth things!

But all that is for tomorrow. Tonight Gibbs is content on just watching the tea interact with one another, and he is just happy that Tim is awake and alive to enjoy their company. While Tim and the others know that there will be more painful roadblocks ahead they are all confident that they can face them all together and Gibbs is confident that they will all come out for the better!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Hope you liked the story and feel free to comment!


End file.
